UK braces for trade war as Trump tariffs 'inevitable'

Sir Keir Starmer is considering retaliatory measures against the US after abandoning hope the UK can avoid direct tariffs set to be unleashed by Donald Trump on Wednesday.

- DAVID MADDOX

The prime minister has suggested he could follow the EU and Canada's lead on retaliatory tariffs, vowing to "act in the national interest" and "leaving everything on the table".

At the beginning of last week, there had been optimism that the UK would avoid direct levies planned for the EU, China and Canada among others. And there was even hope that the UK/US trade deal might still be completed in time for 2 April.

But a highly placed source admitted that once President Trump confirmed 25 per cent tariffs on imported vehicles last Wednesday, "negotiations became much harder" for the UK government. Another source told The Independent: "After the business with cars, tariffs look inevitable now." Sir Keir has attempted to woo the US president with a state visit and public praise of his attempts to bring peace in Ukraine but this has appeared to have failed to persuade Mr Trump to exclude Britain from a trade war.

However, sources have told The Independent that the UK is still dangling the prospect of ditching the planned digital services tax if the Trump administration is ready to sign a new trade deal that could avoid tariffs.